Rich

Yes I thought it might be something like that. Ah well, it was a nice idea while it lasted. This bit wouldn’t be a problem. There are USB to 2.1 centre pos cables available, 10 minutes with a soldering iron and some wire & plugs and hey presto it’s a centre neg daisy chain

I’ve noticed this rechargeable Varta thingy on Thomann, and was wondering if it could be used as a pedalboard supply? The implication seems to be that yes, it could, as the specs show the USB outputs rated as "5V / 3A, 9V / 2A, 12V 1.5A". Which is jolly good, but I can't see for the life of me how the desired output voltage is selected. Anybody got any ideas? https://www.thomann.de/gb/varta_wireless_power_bank_10000.htm

Late afternoon 45 min slot at "Tetfest" (free music festival in Tetbury, Gloucs). Open air gig, my god it was hot but at least it was under cover. We played well, crowd loved us judging by the cheers and dancing. Suave, elegant, sophisticated... Yes, those are definitely words.

Also: Band members who complain you're not playing any gigs, but don't go out and get any and when you DO get offered a gig they're either suddenly unavailable or won't do it because it's not paying enough. It's a pub band FFS, not Pink Floyd.

I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying - Gordon Sumner CBE

No, Dino Palomino. He's a horse whisperer.

The power isn't strictly daisy-chained, although they are paralleled... the 9v feed plugs into the box with the rude word on it, which contains a distribution arrangement (posh name for connector blocks ) for the five separate pedal feeds. The green LED is just a tell tale, so if there's a pedal problem I can see if the 9v feed from the rack is still functioning. It's a bog-simple arrangement and I suppose in an ideal world the separate feeds would be isolated, but it seems to work ok.

NCD (New Cables Day): yesterday I re-made the cable snake for my effects board. Two lengths of Van Damme cable, four 90º Neutrik plugs, a 9Vdc power supply wire, and black & silver braided sleeve. Oh, and colour coded heatshrink for Send and Return. The foldback clip is there to clip onto the back of the amp, thus relieving any pull on the cables plugged in at that end. OK so it’s not glamorous and more than a bit nerdy, but it’s neat & tidy and works very nicely. Must say I really enjoyed putting it all together – there’s something very soothing and satisfying about tinkering around with wire & solder. I must get another pedal build on the go, get some more quality soldering time in!

Methin' Around - Memphis Slim

If the jaffa cake was a biscuit, I'd say jaffa cake. But it's not so I won't. Ooh, controversial.

Yup. At a pub in Melksham once, we had a complaint from a customer who said we were too loud. This was 5 minutes after we arrived and we were still bringing our kit in from the cars at that point. We pointed this out and he said we "looked loud". But then again, it was Melksham. They still think electricity is the work of satan there.

This from Steve's own Farcebook page: "Hey all, wassup? News from here is a bit of a curveball. You might have seen from Insta earlier in the week that I was admitted to hospital. Turns out I've got cancer. Probably lymphoma. Had a biopsy yesterday to find out more, getting results early next week. All in I'm feeling pretty good today, pain is managed and I was able to eat a lot of stuff today. I'm in an excellent hospital with absolutely brilliant staff whose capacity to care is extraordinary. Doctors are being fabulous and I'm getting to see Lo and Flapjack often. Obviously I've canceled every bit of work I have coming up. PhD will be suspended for a while, gigs canceled, private students postponed indefinitely. I could be back able to teach in a couple of months. I'm hoping I can be back at BIMM for the start of the new term in October. But right now I don't know enough to predict any of that. If you want to help out with material stuff, the easiest way is to subscribe to me on Bandcamp or just buy some music. There's no gofundme cos I don't have medical bills, just lost income and this part of my job - selling beautiful music for curious people - is still very much functional. So, that's the best course if you want to help in that way. The subscriber community is also where I'll be posting the most regular updates - feels a little more self-selecting for "care" than the slight chaoticness of FB. Head to https://stevelawson.bandcamp.com/subscribe - there'll no doubt be a ton of new music inspired by this journey x I'm not going to promise I'll be fine. None of us can ever say that with any surity. But I'm in a good place. Happy and mostly comfortable" Remarkable positivity, but then I think he's that kinda guy.

Try Canada. Or mainland Europe. Anywhere but this godforsaken dump.

There's a very rude word that I try not to use too often, it rhymes with 'front' and this bloke is an A1 prime example. He and his ape brother are in more dire need of a good hard punch in the gob than almost anyone else I can think of (outside of politics, anyway).

I Alone - Live

Just the Two of Us - Bill Withers and Grover Washington, Jr

Steve Soar.

Pin(Peter)cushing - ZZ Top

Heartache Avenue - The Maisonettes

Spent the last 2 days frantically learning the set for last night's dep gig at a holiday camp in Portcawl... drove 1.5 hours to find Suzy (the frontperson and band leader) there tearing her hair out. They've played there several times before, it's a big place with house PA and lights... only they've got rid of the house PA. Well why didn't you tell us, says Suzy. Oh we tried to call and I sent emails, says the ents manager. Bullplop says Suzy, my phone is on 24/7 and all my work calls & emails get through ok. Shrug, goes the ents manager. Drive 1.5 hours home again. Suzy is fecking livid and says she will screw some petrol money out of them, and has paid me out of her own pocket. Says the next dep gigs are mine if I want them, I've gladly accepted. But we won't be going there

Rhythmeen - ZZ Top

Oh I see, "banter". Well that makes it perfectly ok then. 🙄🙄🙄 Yes I was 'humping' at the birth of these, I've been doing this nonsense since the early 80s. I don't recall anyone being "girls" about shifting their gear, although many was the late night load-out that I wished my 4x10s didn't weigh as much as a car.

Hah I don't have the greatest or least achey back in the world and lightweight kit has been a revelation for me - my days of 100lb cabs and 60lb amps are gone for good - but if you're happy with the casual sexism of calling me a "girl" you carry on.